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Secret To A Good Relationship?

Coming in second only to the cell phone, a recent survey of 1,000 DVR owners revealed that the television recording device is an item people increasingly can't live without.

The survey suggests DVRs are becoming to households what the microwave once was: a source of liberation and harmony. DVR not only gets you to work on time (by recording morning Saved by the Bell reruns you might otherwise be tempted to watch, duh), it's also saving relationships.

Men's website Asylum reports that nearly 80 percent of survey respondents said the technology has "improved relations with their significant other." While the company collecting this data is a DVR manufacturer, thereby knocking off a touch of legitimacy, there is true logic behind the results.

Technology makes life easier, in various ways. The aforementioned microwave allowed millions of women to serve warm, ready-to-eat meals to spouses and families without so much as touching the stove. GPS devices in cars have eliminated the need to argue about whether or not to stop and ask for directions. With DVR, couples no longer have to choose between watching the baseball game or 90210—simply record and watch one later.

Plus, TV commercials can trick us into thinking true love sparkles and comes in a small black box or convince us that our bathroom floor or our hair follicles just aren't clean enough no matter what we do. DVR gives us the power to snuggle on the couch with our S.O.s, cruise through all the obvious clutter and focus on the programming, where the product placement and subliminal messaging are so much more cleverly conveyed.

2. Backing up

3. Carrie's finances

One column a week? With that apartment and all those shoes she would have to work full-time at an office and freelance write on the side. There is no way those articles are pulling in rent and Manolo Blahniks.